Looker Studio, renamed Data Studio by Google in April 2026, is a free dashboard tool that connects to almost any source. Ads Clear View is specialised: Google Ads and three other Google sources, ready-made reports with no formulas, an audit, an AI assistant and a portal for your clients.
According to Google's official documentation, Looker Studio, now Data Studio, is an interactive dashboard and reporting tool. Its strengths:
Looker Studio is a general-purpose visualisation tool: you build everything, on any source. Ads Clear View is a Google Ads tool: calculations, audit, templates and delivery to the client are already done.
| Criterion | Looker Studio (Data Studio) | Ads Clear View |
|---|---|---|
| Data sources | Free Google connectors and over 1,300 partner connectors, some paid, for almost any source. | Four Google sources brought together per client: Google Ads (all plans), Google Analytics 4, Search Console and Merchant Center (paid plans). Meta Ads and other ad networks cannot be connected. |
| Client reports | Total freedom: you build every chart, table and calculated field, or start from a template. | Ready-made report templates, a drag-and-drop composer, share links, PowerPoint export (5 layouts) and PDF, under your brand on paid plans. |
| Scheduled sending | Scheduled email delivery: without Pro, one schedule per report, at most once a day; more with Pro. | Weekly, monthly or quarterly reports emailed in your name, with the period set automatically (paid plans). |
| Access for your clients | Reports shared with invited people or by link, viewable even without a Google account depending on sharing settings. | A white-label client portal at your-agency.acvhub.net, protected by a code, with no mention of Ads Clear View (paid plans). |
| Google Ads audit | A visualisation tool: the analysis and recommendations are up to you. | An audit of every account that checks conversion tracking first, then campaigns, keywords, search terms and ads, with wasted spend quantified and the action to take. |
| AI assistant | Gemini in Data Studio for Pro users, plus conversational analytics. | An AI assistant (Claude, by Anthropic) included in every plan, already connected to the client's accounts: 30 to 1,000 messages a month depending on the plan, with no separate AI subscription. |
| Who computes the figures | The formulas and calculated fields you build in the report. | The code computes tables, charts, key figures and the audit; the AI assistant comments on values that are already calculated. In presentations, every figure written by the AI is checked against the data. |
| Cost | Free; Data Studio Pro at $9 per user, per project, per month. Public price taken from cloud.google.com/data-studio on 5 November 2026. Some partner connectors are paid. | Flat price, AI included: 59 € to 199 € excl. VAT per month, with no extra charge per Google Ads account. A Free plan with no credit card. |
Information about Looker Studio taken from its official website (cloud.google.com/data-studio, docs.cloud.google.com) on 5 November 2026. Looker Studio is a trademark of its publisher, mentioned here for comparison only; Ads Clear View is not affiliated with it. Every tool evolves: check the details with its publisher.
The monthly price of the cheapest plan that covers each number of clients, based on each tool's public price list, in its original currency. The assumptions are listed below the table.
| Clients | Looker Studio (Data Studio) | Ads Clear View |
|---|---|---|
| 1 client | Free version$0: no charge for report creators and viewers | Solo59 € excl. VAT a month, or 47.20 € excl. VAT a month billed annually |
| 3 clients | Free version$0: no charge for report creators and viewers | Solo59 € excl. VAT a month, or 47.20 € excl. VAT a month billed annually |
| 10 clients | Free version$0: no charge for report creators and viewers | Pro89 € excl. VAT a month, or 71.20 € excl. VAT a month billed annually |
Public price taken on 5 November 2026 from the official page: cloud.google.com/data-studio
Three situations, step by step: what you get with Looker Studio, what you get with Ads Clear View. The first one favours Looker Studio.
He wants a custom dashboard mixing advertising, sales and margins, with his own calculations.
Looker Studio connects all these sources and lets him build every calculated field, for free: the right tool.
Ads Clear View only reads Google Ads, GA4, Search Console and Merchant Center; it does not replace a custom multi-source dashboard.
Each report means checking connectors, date filters and calculated fields, client by client.
The team duplicates its template per client, reconnects the source, checks the filters and schedules each report.
It starts from a ready-made template, applies it to each client in a few clicks and schedules the monthly send in its name: the "last month" period sets itself. Eight clients fit in the Pro plan (10 clients).
The report shows cost per conversion went up; the client wants to know why and what to do.
The consultant opens Google Ads, looks for the explanation and writes it into the report.
The audit lists the findings (conversion tracking, campaigns, keywords, search terms, ads) with their quantified impact, and the assistant answers the question with figures; an AI-written comment block can go into the report.
Ads Clear View is not for everyone. Looker Studio is a better fit if:
Yes. Google renamed Looker Studio to Data Studio in April 2026, according to its release notes. Many users still call it Looker Studio.
Looker Studio is a free, general-purpose visualisation tool: you build your reports on any source. Ads Clear View specialises in Google Ads: ready-made templates, audit, built-in AI assistant, scheduled sending and a white-label client portal.
The Free plan is free, with no credit card. Paid plans range from 59 € to 199 € excl. VAT per month, AI included (100 to 1,000 messages a month), with no extra charge per Google Ads account.
No. Access is read-only: no bid, budget or ad is ever changed. You apply the recommendations yourself, in Google Ads.
Yes, nothing prevents it: both tools read the same Google accounts without getting in each other's way. You can keep Looker Studio for what it does well and use Ads Clear View for the Google Ads audit, the assistant and client reports.
Connect an account, run the audit and build your first report. Free plan with no credit card; read-only, nothing is changed in your accounts.
